Study: New Technique Helps Identify People at Risk of Alzheimer's

Using a new technique to measure the volume of the brain, New York University School of Medicine researchers have identified healthy individuals who would later develop memory impairment, a symptom associated with a high risk for future Alzheimer's disease.

Currently, Alzheimer's disease can be diagnosed definitively only after a person dies, by an autopsy showing certain brain abnormalities. As reported in the December issue of radiology, this new technique appears to detect the earliest signs of Alzheimer's in healthy people.

Henry Rusinek, associate professor of radiology at the university, and his colleagues used MRI scans and a mathematical formula to measure a region of the brain called the medial-temporal lobe over a period of two years.

This area contains the hippocampus and the entorhinal cortex, key structures allied with learning and memory. The researchers found that each year, this region of the brain shrank considerably more in people who developed memory problems compared with people who didn't.

"With our findings, we now know that the normal healthy brain undergoes a predictable shrinkage that can be used to help recognize Alzheimer's several years before clinical symptoms emerge," said Rusinek.

Rusinek said the study is only the first demonstration that extremely early diagnosis is possible, adding that the technique still requires additional work before it is ready for the clinic.

The technique correctly predicted cognitive decline in nine out of 10 people and correctly identified 90 percent of those whose memories would remain normal for their age. However, the study was small, involving only 45 people.

The researchers said future studies are necessary to find out whether the technique would be as accurate in a much larger pool of subjects and whether it would be effective in identifying other neurodegenerative diseases that affect the aging brain.

"I do not believe that serious memory loss is a natural consequence of aging. A vast majority of elderly we see are very sharp and creative," Rusinek said, advising those at risk for memory decline to exercise the brain as well as the body.

Other sources: New York University School of Medicine